Ground broken for Saltillo Medical Clinic

SALTILLO – The new Saltillo Medical Clinic already has buckets of sweat equity to its credit.
With the heat index hovering at 107 at 4 p.m. Tuesday, city and county officials, North Mississippi Medical clinic leaders and Dr. Richmond McCarty shoveled ceremoniously and perspired profusely to mark the official start of construction.
“We’re very excited about the prospect of having a larger clinic in Saltillo to serve our patients’ needs,” said David Barber, North Mississippi Medical Clinics president.
The new 6,674-square-foot clinic on Turner Park just southwest of the U.S. Highway 45-Highway 145 interchange, will replace the current office on Mobile Street in downtown Saltillo. The land was purchased from the Lee County Board of Supervisors.
“It’s going to take us to the next step,” McCarty said, building on the legacy of longtime Saltillo physician Dr. R.B. Robison. “We’ll have more room for patient education.”
McCarty and his current staff of five will have space to add two other primary care providers in their new medical home. The new clinic is expected to open in early 2012.
The clinic is based on the design used for the system’s family medicine clinics around the region, but it also has family connections. Architects Kurt Shettles and Jay Bryan work for McCarty Co., the firm founded by McCarty’s father, Buddy, and lead by his uncle, Richard.
“It’s special to work on it,” because Dr. McCarty is a neighbor and has cared for his children, Shettles said.
It’s bittersweet to see the clinic move from downtown, but the town can claim a long, productive partnership with recently retired Robison and now McCarty, said Saltillo Mayor Bill Williams.
“They’ve certainly been good citizens of Saltillo,” Williams said. “We’re excited about their growth and expansion.”
michaela.morris@journalinc.com